


Rushing Into This

by MayGlenn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Kiss, Fraternities & Sororities, Fraternity-Typical Racism and Homophobia, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Nerdiness, Star Wars References, but with a fluffy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-17 02:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12355599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayGlenn/pseuds/MayGlenn
Summary: “Did we just become best friends?!”“Yep!” Finn answered, and then he really laughed, and looked gorgeous when he laughed.“And a Will Farrell fan, too?” Poe asked.Finn’s laugh turned embarrassed, now, and it was also adorable. “I’m not going to lie, I only know the meme.”Poe clicked his tongue. “Freshmen these days.”





	Rushing Into This

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Onthecyberseas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onthecyberseas/gifts).



> The prompt was "Stormpilot College AU with Poe trying to recruit Finn to join his fraternity." But maybe Poe is the one who needs rescuing (see end note).
> 
> Thanks to Beautifullights, LinaTrinch, and Onceuponagalaxyfarfaraway for beta-ing!

“Hey, man. You thinking about rushing?”

It was a stupid question: the guy Poe Dameron had been checking out all night wouldn’t be _at_ this party if he wasn’t considering joining a fraternity, but by the time Poe approached him with the customary offering of red solo cup with cheap beer and a smile, he hadn’t thought up anything better to say.

His heart skipped a beat when the cute guy flashed him a smile and—he _might_ have been imagining this part—raked him up and down with his eyes. “I might be now.”

Poe laughed it off, a little breathless. He had to play it cool, of course, as none of his fraternity brothers knew he was bi (which was beginning to grate on his nerves, actually, so maybe he didn’t care any more). “Name’s Poe. Poe Dameron. What’s yours?”

“Call me Finn,” Finn smiled. “Good to meet you.”

“Good to meet you, too, Finn.”

Now that the pleasantries were out of the way, Poe’s mind went blank. He was probably supposed to talk about their values and mission statement as a fraternity, or how life was at the house, or how great the parties were, but what he really wanted to do was talk about how bright Finn’s smile was and how amazing his fade was. You could set your watch by his haircut, and that had never done anything for Poe before, but it was doing things now.

Poe was about to open his mouth to say something (probably stupid), when Finn dove at him. For a split-second Poe thought that out of his wildest fantasies, Finn was going in for a kiss or something, but that definitely _was_ just wishful thinking, because Finn actually shoved him out of the way saying, “Watch out!” as a ping pong ball from the obligatory beer pong game sailed into the wall behind his head at an alarming speed.

“Guys, you wanna knock it off?” Poe shouted, but wasn’t heard over the music. He turned back to Finn: “Thanks, man.”

“We’re gonna get pulverized if we stay out here much longer,” Finn commented.

“You wanna get out of here?” Poe found himself offering.

Finn’s smile brightened. “Yeah, find someplace more chill. _Literally_ more chill. I’m burning up in here.”

Poe’s laugh was almost giddy. Cheesy jokes were his downfall.

Poe led Finn up to the roof, where the smell of stale beer and stale Axe of inside gave way to the muggy summer smell of outside. “Sorry, it’s not actually any cooler out here. But all our parties aren’t that wild, don’t worry.”

He wasn’t sure why he needed to say that. It was kind of a lie. “So what’re you gonna major in, Finn? Or do you not know?”

“Thinking about Journalism. Or English. My parents want me to…” Finn waved a hand. “Business. Or Pre-Law. Sell out and make the big bucks.”

“Well you can tell them with confidence that law degrees don’t _actually_ make you that much money anymore. And ten years after graduation, English majors are more likely to be making more money than Business majors. There’s stats to prove it.”

“Really?” Finn sounded vaguely like he was humoring Poe, but Poe ploughed on, unable to stop.

“I’ve been looking at grad schools, thinking about life, reading up on the job market. Stressing out, you know.” Poe laughed. “Sorry to unload on you. I’m an English major, so, of course _I_ think you should do that. What do you like to read? Or do you have a favorite period, or...?”

“I’m kind of a nerd,” Finn admitted, but admitted in a proud way. “Fantasy, sci-fi. Tolkien, _A Song of Ice and Fire_ , but I really love, like, those trashy _Halo_ novels, too. I’m kind of a little obsessed with the _Star Wars_ EU...”

“You, too?! Oh my God!” Poe cried. “Did we just become best friends?!”

“Yep!” Finn answered, and then he _really_ laughed, and looked gorgeous when he laughed.

“And a Will Farrell fan, too?” Poe asked.

Finn’s laugh turned embarrassed, now, and it was also adorable. “I’m not going to lie, I only know it from the meme.”  

Poe clicked his tongue. “Freshmen these days.”

They talked through the whole party, late into the night—nerdy and, Poe hoped, flirty—they had exchanged numbers, and friended each other on Facebook and Snapchat (“What the crap even is Snapchat, Finn?” “God, you _are_ old! Here, let’s make you one.”), so Poe called it a success. Things were dying down, or had died out, as Poe walked Finn back through the house to the front door.

“Ah, the parts of frat life they don’t want you to see,” Poe said, gesturing vaguely at all the trash and a few passed out people.

Poe wasn’t supposed to admit that, either, but he had had just enough to drink and was just familiar enough with Finn to admit some jaded thoughts he’d been harboring for a long time. “The empty beer cans, the vomit…”

“The racism, the homophobia…” Finn agreed.

Poe paled and looked at him sharply, but Finn laughed and waved him off.

“It’s cool, man. I didn’t expect anyone else to talk to me. Not a lot of Black fraternity brothers here.”

“Well, no, but,” Poe felt the need to protest. “We’re not like that. I mean, guys _joke_ , you know…”

 _But maybe that means we_ are  _like that_ , Poe thought. Could it be true that just because he looked white-passing that he had never had any issues, or seen them? He remembered his freshman year, how the pressure to join up and fit in had consumed him for so long, and only now he was a senior did he realize how much it just didn’t matter. Had it really made him ignore these things?

“I mean, you’re the only one who’s talked to me...pretty much all week,” Finn said. Not mad, just...like he knew it was going to happen.

And it made _Poe_ mad.

“Seriously? What a bunch of tools.” Poe began to wonder why he paid money to associate with these people.

“I’m sorry, man. I guess...I was...well, I was _supposed_ to say I hope you choose us,” Poe muttered, contrition clear in his voice. “But you’d probably be better off—I’m not even sure _I_ want to—”

“Would you like to get coffee?” Finn asked at the door.

“You—whuh—hm?” Poe asked, so engrossed by his fraternal crisis that _his crush asking him out on a date_ completely blindsided him. “I mean. You mean like a date? You don’t mean like a date. Do you?”

Finn gave a slow nod, and an even slower smile. “I do mean like a date, yeah. Unless I’ve been misreading everything this evening?”

“No! No, you haven’t! But you don’t think I’m—” Poe gestured vaguely around him, as if to encompass every problem with the institution he was a part of.  

Finn also waved a hand, as though to clear the air. “We’ll save the systemic racism discussion for the first date.”

Poe was startled into laughing, so it worked.

Finn shrugged. “You just...look like you could use a rescue.” 

And the fact that Poe’s first instinct was to look around and make sure none of his brothers saw him saying yes to a man asking him out on a date was kind of the last straw. He shut the door behind him, planning to never return.

“I—yeah, man, _absolutely_. Though we might have to settle for a beer at this time of night. Actually, there is that cookie place that’s open until three.”

Finn flashed that brilliant smile of his again. “Great. I _did_ mean another time, too. But I don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow. Now that I’m no longer rushing.”

“You know what? Neither do I,” Poe agreed, planning to let everyone else clean up the party. “Are you free tomorrow evening? Cookie place is this way.”

“Abso...actually no. The game shop here has a _D &D _ fifth edition night, and I—”

Poe laughed. “You are _such_ a nerd.”

Finn let him stop laughing before he asked, “Will you come to it with me?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” Poe grinned.

Finn laughed. “Great. Maybe we’ll find you a better fraternity.”

Poe stopped, then, and turned toward Finn, and just went for it: “Can I kiss you?”

Finn laughed. “I have been drinking shitty beer literally all night just in the hopes that you’d ask me that.”

Poe put his arms around Finn, and kissed him in full view of frat house row and didn’t _care_ , and the only thing that saved him from the fact that he blurted out “I love you” after knowing this guy for all of four hours was that Finn, without missing a beat, replied, “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Probably most fraternities are fine, but I was scared by [this](http://www.complex.com/life/2015/08/reasons-you-shouldnt-join-a-fraternity/) article in particular while doing research for this fic. Party smart, kids!


End file.
